Asthma management costs the U.S. economy more than $80 billion annually in medical expenses, missed work and school days, and deaths, according to new research published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Healthcare leaders’ continuing efforts to alleviate the trending asthma management costs will have long-term benefits for patients and providers alike.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, finding asthma is a drag not only on the broader economy but on resource utilization in the healthcare system.

Particularly because the authors said the study likely underestimated the total cost of asthma to the U.S. economy since their analysis did not include people whose asthma went untreated, the finding are a call to action for hospitals, academic medical centers and tech innovators alike to identify resources to improve disease management and decrease the financial burden of the prevalent condition on patients and providers alike.

The researchers defined treated asthma as having at least one medical encounter for asthma or having a prescription for at least one asthma medicine filled during a calendar year. Of 213,994 respondents to the survey over a six-year period, the study identified 10,237 people with treated asthma. Based on the pooled sample, researchers estimated average annual numbers and costs for the U.S. population:

4 million people in the U.S. had treated asthma each year

Total cost — including medical care, absenteeism and mortality — coming in at $81.9 billion.

"BHM provides consultation and direct clinical oversight to East Carolina Behavioral Health as a delegated authority for clinical peer review and physician services. We have been extremely satisfied, and value the organization’s depth and breadth of knowledge. BHM continues to exceed our expectations."

Cindy Ehlers,
V P Clinical Operations, Trillium (formerly ECBH)

"6 of the top 10 largest health plans* entrust BHM for behavioral health peer reviews.